For all of Dark Souls' quirks compared to it's refined successors, it's yet to be topple. Dark souls is the most bespoke, creative, engaging action RPG to ever be made. The lore is interesting, the gameplay is punishing but well-tuned and responsive enough to not feel frustrating, and the world design (especially the first 2/3rds of the game) are a work of pure genius. Dark Souls is flawed, but still a masterpiece. Trying to describe why it's good does a disservice to it. Just play it